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JAKARTA, KOMPAS – After prolonged uncertainty, the government, through the Ministry of Youth and Sports, has finally announced the contingent that will be sent to SEA Games Cambodia 2023 which will take place from May 5-17. Indonesia will be strengthened by 599 athletes consisting of 379 men and 220 women to compete in 31 sports out of a total of 37 branches that will be contested. The contingent should be able to win at least 60 gold medals to maintain their third position, similar to the SEA Games Vietnam 2021 last year.

“Alhamdulillah, exactly two weeks after my appointment as Menpora, we, together with the review team, the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) and the Indonesian National Sports Committee (KONI) completed the process. Comments. After going through a long process over the past year, we hope that this decision can provide the best results for Indonesia. For this reason, we have announced that Indonesia will participate in 31 branches with 599 athletes,” Menpora Dito Ariotedjo said during a press conference at Kemenpora office, Jakarta, on Monday (4/17/2023).

Dito said the Indonesian contingent for the 2023 SEA Games has increased by about 100 athletes compared to the participation in the 2021 SEA Games. This increase happened because Indonesia participated in many team events which n t participated in previous SEA Games, namely 38 athletes in hockey, 30 athletes in cricket and 26 athletes in water polo.

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The increase in the number of athletes was discussed with the review team, KOI and KONI. With these athletes, we hope that at least Indonesia can retain the third place they won in previous SEA Games.

This also covered the absence of a number of athletes from the individual events as they were not contested at the 2023 SEA Games. At the 2021 SEA Games, the individual athletes contributed at least 39 gold medals. “The increase in the number of athletes has been discussed with the review team, KOI and KONI. With these athletes, we hope that at least Indonesia can retain the third place they won in previous SEAs. Games. Swelling this contingent can be a strategy as well as a challenge for the Red and White team,” Dito said.

When asked to be more specific about the target number of gold medals, Dito replied that they hoped the contingent could earn at least 60 gold medals. This target is of course below Indonesia’s earnings at the 2021 SEA Games of 69 gold, 91 silver and 81 bronze. “Hopefully the target can still miss the top (get more gold),” Dito said.

Overall, Dito said, his party had just announced the 2023 SEA Games contingent because he had only been Menpora for the past two weeks. For the rest, there are no significant obstacles. “What is clear, when I first took office, I immediately went through the issues related to the contingent in detail. As led by President Joko Widodo, we need to prepare an effective and efficient team. Everyone who leaves, they have to give an achievement. I tried to adapt quickly and the coordination with KOI and KONI went well,” he explained.

Also read: Menpora focus on preparing Cambodian team for SEA Games 2023

Prof. Asmawi, Head of the National Sports Performance Enhancement Review Team, Kemenpora, said the contingent was determined based on the latest accurate data or information. Athletes were evaluated based on their performance at several major events they have recently attended and discussions with related branch coaches and administrators so that they can truly be considered. From there, they recommended him to the government.

The review team consists of a number of parties, namely practitioners, academics, KOI and KONI, so the review may represent many parties. “Hopefully this contingent can maintain Indonesia’s third place position in SEA Games 2021. Despite losing a lot of gold, there are at least 39 SEA Games gold medals from Vietnam to Cambodia. We hopefully this time the Indonesian team can find golden opportunities from other branches,” Asmawi said.

KOI President Raja Sapta Oktohari and KONI General Secretary Tubagus Ade Lukman who were also present at the press conference gave their full support to the contingent. “How can we do this, we hope Indonesia can maintain and if possible improve on their achievements at SEA Games 2023 even if our 39 potential gold medals are undisputed. We hope the athletes can give their best performance “, concluded Lukman.